John Mark Hicks

After the ascension of Jesus to the right hand of the Father, one hundred and twenty disciples, including the mother of Jesus, were gathered together in one place (ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ). They were all devoted (προσκαρτεροῦντες) to praying and waiting for the promised Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14-15). On the day of Pentecost, they were all […]

This is a lecture I delivered at Great Lakes Christian College on October 21, 2022. Click here for the link. The lecture begins about minute 40. Acts 2:42: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers.”

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2:42, NRSV. “Our greatest trouble now is, it seems to me, a vast unconverted membership. A very large percent of the church members among us seem to have very poor conception of what a Christian ought […]

Acts 2:41-47 has long been a focus of discussion in the history of the church, especially in the Anabaptist as well Bristish dissenter traditions. It is particularly important among “restorationist” streams for obvious reasons. My interest in this post is the meaning of “the breaking of the bread” in this narrative description of the early […]

My interest has recently been rekindled in thinking about “breaking bread” in several ways.  Recently, I have received several emails asking questions, seeking more information and wanting deeper reflection on the exegetical as well as theological dimensions of what Luke describes as “breaking bread.”  More specifically, in recent months I have read Justin Rogers’ piece in the […]

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42, NASV) Borrowing from Brother Lawrence, I have been using the language of “practicing the kingdom of God” in recent years. I don’t mean that as an alternative to or a substitute for Brother […]